Carving the Anthropocene
Road Gator Fossil
The Anthropocene is a physical layer on the planet which we are creating with the materials we manufacture. Over time these materials will break down and become a layer of stone. Within this stone will be fossils of some of these objects that were once important to us. My next development in sculpture will be to create some of these fossils. The photo below is of a shredded car tyre. We see remnants like these scattered along the motorways as we travel along them. In the US they are called "Road Gators" because of their reptilian appearance. I’ve chosen these as my fossils from the Anthropocene because they are forms discarded along our landscape that met their end at the side of the road. They will be fossilised over time and serve as a reminder of who we were. It is down to us now to decide if that is the legacy we want to leave.
Place
My work is inspired by the coast in Dawlish, where I grew up. For me this place symbolises our frailty on a personal and environmental level. The sea wall collapsed in 2014 and is now the scene of a multi-million pound project to protect Brunel's rail line from rising seas. It is also where I dealt with a tragedy in 1992, recalled in this newspaper article when a second tragedy occurred in the same place. Our coastline is where we are most vulnerable and my work seeks to connect us to the landscape and remind people of why it is so important to value what we have and why we need to make changes. This section of coastline is millions of years old, the rail line was built there in the industrial revolution, and the climate emergency is happening there now. That's why it inspires my work.
Stone
The stone used for this project is Devon Marble. This stone was quarried around Devon and used to decorate many famous buildings during the industrial Revolution. I searched the long forgotten quarry and found this piece. It's the perfect stone for my piece. It's from the South Devon coastline and full of time from the industrial revelution to when it was formed millions of years ago.
Finding the fossil
Through a series of maquettes I worked through the form I wanted to create. When a car tyre is shredded on a motorway it is a violent end. When fossilised, these pieces would be a twisted reminder of that moment.
Road Gators
Road Gators can be seen at the side of most motorways. They are mostly from lorry tyres. You can see the long marks left by them on the road.
